How Ford Will Upgrade Owners' Display Screens

gManZboy writes "'Sometime early next year, Ford will mail USB sticks to about 250,000 owners of vehicles with its advanced touchscreen control panel. The stick will contain a major upgrade to the software for that screen. With it, Ford breaks the model in which the technology in a car essentially stayed unchanged from assembly line to junk yard' — and Ford becomes a software company. This shift created a hot new tech job at Ford: human-machine interface engineers — people who come from a range of backgrounds, from software development to mechanical engineers, and who can live in the worlds of art and science at once."

"with it, Ford breaks"

[decora]

yup. sounds about right.

what a summary!

[Anonymous Coward]

"people who come from a range of backgrounds, from software development to mechanical engineers, and who can live in the worlds of art and science at once"

did MLK write the summary?

Microsoft Sync

[AmberBlackCat]

I can't help but think there's a connection between (Ford uses Microsoft software for the car audio & display) and (Ford becomes the first company to issue a patch so users can upgrade their car's software).

Re:Opening

[Mantis8]

F.O.R.D. = fix or repair daily will take on a whole new meaning now.

Re:Opening

[mikerubin]

Format Or Reinstall Daily

Re:Opening

[The Askylist]

I had an issue upgrading from version 2 (Bridgend Boyo) to the latest, Dagenham Dustbin. Next year's Emphysemic Escort is supposed to fix it, but I suspect I'll be disappointed till Z-Car Zodiac is finally released.

Installation: Step One

[PPH]

Close all the windows.

Re:"with it, Ford breaks"

[Bengie]

Car + Crash = Bad

Re:Congrats to the lucky ones

[ColdWetDog]

The problem with the aftermarket stuff now is that it seems like, unlike back in the 90s, no one's using standard DIN-sized components any more, so it's nearly impossible to replace your radio or nav system without it looking like shit.

What are you ever about? Duct tape comes in all sorts of colors these days.

Re:"with it, Ford breaks"

[FatdogHaiku]

"Please wait while Microsoft validates your airbag deployment software license..."
Congratulations, you airbag deployment software license is valid.
Microsoft will now continue deploying your airbag...